1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to waste containers for diapers, and more particularly to a touch-free diaper pail that can be operated without the need for the user to touch the diaper pail.
2. Description of Related Art
The diaper changing process is common to most families with children. Caregivers face the issue of what to do with a soiled diaper. Some caregivers choose reusable cloth diapers and manually dispose of the waste. The cloth diapers are then washed and reused. However, it has become much more common to use disposable diapers. Some people choose simply to toss a soiled disposable diaper in their regular trash. However, soiled diapers emit unpleasant odors.
Diaper pails and other devices for disposing of soiled diapers are known in the art. A conventional diaper pail is typically used to temporarily store soiled diapers in the vicinity of where the diaper changing process took place, such as in a child's nursery or adjacent a changing table. Every few days, the caregiver must empty the diaper pail as it fills with dirty or soiled diapers.
Many diaper pails don't prevent odors from the soiled diapers from escaping into the environment adjacent the diaper pail. Many diaper pails are also fairly difficult to use. It can be difficult for the caregiver to place a soiled diaper in the container of the diaper pail. Some of these more difficult to use diaper pails have mechanisms that are not intuitive to the average caregiver. Some of these more difficult to use diaper pails also require at least one or even both hands to properly operate the unit in order to dispose of a soiled diaper.
Some diaper pails require the use of proprietary, custom fit bags. The proprietary bags can be quite expensive and can be difficult to install and replace in the pail. Additionally, some proprietary bags can only be purchased at select retailers and, thus, can be difficult to obtain at times for an average caregiver. Many of these types of diaper pails are wasteful in that the amount of plastic used per each soiled diaper is much larger than if one were to use a regular trash bag.
Some diaper pails known in the art do not fit particularly well in a nursery. For example, many diaper pails have a circular cylinder configuration and, thus, have a circular footprint. The circular diaper pail does not fit in many conventional storage locations within a nursery or other home environment. Thus, some diaper pails can take up unnecessary space when used.
There are diaper pails on the market that have attempted to address one or more of the above-noted issues. However, there is no diaper pail available today that addresses all of the problems and disadvantages discussed above. One such diaper pail product uses a scented tablet made out of a scented plastic in attempting to mask the odor of soiled diapers. The effect has been shown to be minimal. This product has a lid that can be opened by pressing on a foot pedal at the base of the pail. This product also uses standard trash bags. The product does not eliminate odors, must be touched by the user's foot, and has a round footprint making it difficult to place in a home environment.
A second known diaper pail product has two spring loaded arms that pinch closed the bag that holds the soiled diapers. This same product also has a compartment in the lid that can receive an air freshener, which only attempts to mask the odor of soiled diapers. This same product has a push button that the user must push to open a lid and expose the receptacle in which the soil diaper can be placed. This product also uses standard trash bags. Thus, the second known product does not eliminate soiled diaper odors, still must be touched by the user in order to open the unit, and also has a round footprint making it difficult to store the unit within the home environment.
A third known diaper pail product attempts to contain soiled diaper odors by preventing the odors from escaping the containment bag. This product uses two sets of spring loaded arms to pinch the bag closed. This third product must be operated by hand in order to dispose of soiled diapers, uses proprietary trash bags, and also has a round cylinder configuration.
A fourth known product attempts to contain soiled diaper odors by preventing the odors from escaping the containment bag. This is accomplished by twisting each soiled diaper into its own compartment within a long, thin plastic bag, which may be compared to the outer skin of sausage links. The proprietary bags are scented in order to help mask the odors of the soiled diapers. This product again must be manually operated by the user. This fourth product does not eliminate odors, must be manually operated, uses proprietary trash bags, and again has a round footprint.
A fifth known product attempts to contain soiled diaper odors by employing a mechanism that drops the diaper into a containment area without exposing the odor of the soiled diaper to the environment. The containment area is sealed in an attempt to prevent escape of the soiled diaper odors. The seals are not particularly tight, so odor can and does escape the containment area. This product has a handle that must be manipulated by the user in order to turn a hole upside down to drop a diaper into the containment area. This product does use standard trash bags. Thus, this known diaper pail must be manually operated, does not eliminate diaper odors, and also has a round footprint.
Yet another known product employs trap doors and minimal seals to attempt to prevent odors from escaping the diaper pail. This sixth known product also uses proprietary scented bags to help mask soiled diaper odors. This product employs a foot pedal in order to raise the lid exposing the diaper receptacle. This product does have a rectangular footprint rendering it a better fit within the home environment. However, this sixth known product does not eliminate diaper odors, must be touched in order to be used, and uses proprietary scented trash bags. Standard trash bags can be used with this sixth known product, but the minimal masking impact gained by using the proprietary scented bags is lost.